After the Storm
by Most Everyone's Madd Here
Summary: Following the loss of his best friend, an intoxicated and grieving Colonel Mustang finds comfort in the arms of his most loyal subordinate in the midst of a ravaging thunderstorm.


**Greetings! This is another one-shot but like, 'Forbidden' in the _'Paperwork'_ collection, this story falls into a universe that I'm creating for a multi-fic story. This is my final one-shot for Royai Smut Week on Tumblr, so that being said it's smut. GRAPHIC SMUT and you have been warned!**

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He was right. It _was_ raining.

The storm had brewed over East City with a vengeance. Rolling in from the east and seemingly floating over the city, dropping torrents of rain, flashes of lightening, and the crashing roar of thunder.

The lights flickered around Riza's small apartment, threatening to go out at any moments. That was fine, though. She preferred the glow of candlelight on nights like this anyways.

She had returned home from Central only hours after paying her respects to the late Brigadier General Maes Hughes at his funeral. Sinking deeper into her bubble filled bathtub, she exhaled and thought about the people affected by this tragedy.

Flashbacks of his wife, Gracia, softly sobbing, and holding little Elicia against her leg tightly, flooded her mind. Elicia; she was Maes' world. She could still see him prancing through the office on his many visits to the headquarters on Eastern, shoving pictures of the baby girl at anyone within two feet of him.

The Elrics and Winry Rockbell still had no idea. Maes Hughes had a way of touching many people's lives, and always made it a point to invite any and everyone to dinner at his home, or even offering them a place to stay. Those kids were sure to be devastated by the news of his murder.

But it was _his_ heartache that scared her the most. Watching the confident and driven young Colonel shed silent tears in front of his closest friend's gravesite had hurt her the most. She felt helpless, but she kept a straight face and supported him the way she'd always done.

He wanted to bring whoever was responsible for Hughes' murder to justice; even though there was a strong possibility that a higher-up may have been the culprit. He needn't ask her if she would have his back in his quest for retribution.

If she couldn't have the place by his side, she'd gladly take her place watching his back.

The building's electricity finally lost the battle to the storm raging outside, and everything went pitch black as Riza was towel drying her body.

Riza lit a candle and guided herself through the darkness, illuminating her small sanctuary with candlelight. It was nearing midnight, but her mind was wide awake, having no intentions of falling asleep anytime soon, even though she had work in the morning.

She slipped on a pair of men's boxers that she used as sleep-shorts, and a thin, spaghetti-strapped tank top. After spending her days bundled in thick military garb, it was nice to feel free as she padded around her quiet dwelling.

The boxers had belonged to an old fling from a few years ago. He'd left them there after an evening of sex at her apartment and shortly after, they ended things. They were clean and comfortable, and Riza saw no reason to waste time contacting him to retrieve them.

Hayate was in the living room, barking intently at the front door. Riza thought nothing of it, until she heard a loud _'thunk'_ against the thin wooden door. She shrugged on her pink fleece robe, and grabbed her .9MM; cautiously making her way towards the door.

After news of Hughes' murder circulated, the General had warned all of the local state military officers to be keen on their senses, in case there was some kind of military assassination in the works.

Oddly enough, Black Hayate wasn't growling or showing any signs of aggression. Whatever was behind the door was familiar to him. That didn't sway Riza's suspicions however, considering Armstrong's revelation that a state military official was involved in ending Hughes' life.

She placed her hand firmly on the door knob, as a flash of lightening illuminated the dim apartment through the windows.

"Who's there?" She called out her stern voice. There was no answer, but she could hear movement against the door, and a soft groan.

When she swung the door open, she barely had time to train her gun before the weight of a man's body collapsed into her apartment. The hallway behind him was empty and dark. The entire building had indeed lost power.

"Colonel Mustang!" She shouted, putting her gun on the corner table. She slammed the door closed, and kneeled down beside him. He was laying face down, but he was breathing just fine. He was soaking wet from being outside in the storm apparently.

"Colonel? Are you okay?" She asked him turning his head to the side and shaking him lightly.

"Yeah, I'm—"He groaned, but trailed off lightly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Central another day, sir?" She asked him softy, stroking his stray hairs back, but they continued to fall back over his turned face. He let out a ragged sigh, and she could smell the liquor on his breath. Of course he'd been drinking away the pain of burying his best friend.

"There's nothing there for me now. I feel…numb." He mumbled. "I needed… someone… who could make me feel…"

Riza smiles softly at his words. Even in his drunken stupor, this man, who was four years her senior, was so very handsome.

Still, he'd now put her in a strangely compromising position. He was her superior officer, and she was positive that it was inappropriate to see her in her night clothes. The robe covering her was untied and open, and beneath it, her thin material of the tank top hugged her bare breasts and stopped just above her belly button. Not to mention she didn't bother wearing panties underneath the striped boxers.

"You're drunk, Colonel." She whispered, sliding her arms under his armpits and pulling his torso up. He was dead weight for a moment, until he suddenly swayed his body upright and sat up on his knees.

Riza let out a small yelp when he collapsed forward again, still on his knees, this time planting the side of his wet face against her stomach. She was pushed back slightly, but held her composure and supported him awkwardly.

She wasn't sure what to say or do. He just leaned against her, with his eyes closed and his shaky breaths tickled her stomach. Her hands hung uneasily at her sides. She wanted to comfort him, but she was unsure of where the line between consoling and intimacy stood in this situation.

Finally after a few silent moments of just leaning there against her, he moved. His hands rose upward from their place at his side, and he brought them up to rest on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

Riza stood there frozen in shock. He was now on his knees before her, with his cheek resting on her bare lower stomach and his rough hands holding her just above the waistband of the boxers, where her back dipped in to accent her rear end.

"Uhh…Colonel Mustang?" She wasn't sure what to say, or what was happening at the moment.

"I didn't want to be…alone, Reez." He muttered quietly.

Riza's breath hitched, "You haven't called me that in ages." She whispered, more to herself than to him directly.

"Yeah," Roy breathed out. A chill ran through her body as she felt him turn his face into her exposed stomach, unconsciously pressing his nose and lips against the cool skin. "Well old habits die hard." His words vibrated against her body, and she barely register what he was saying. Her mind was a cloudy mess of thoughts. What was going on here?

Outside the storm raged on violently, but Riza could hardly hear it over the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. His hands were now making circles on her back; in the space between the hem of the tank top and the elastic waistband of the boxers.

She giggles softly when she felt him inhale against her skin. "What are you doing, Colonel?"

"You smell really good," He inhaled again and she pushed his head back slightly to stop the tickling sensation. She also needed to find a way to get his head out of the position it was in; flush with her tummy, with her breast resting just above the crown of his black hair, and his chin against the front of the boxers.

"I'd just finished with my bath when you stumbled on my doorstep." She mused, resting her hands on the soaked shoulders of his overcoat. "What are you doing out in this storm?"

He finally opened his eyes and tilted his head up towards hers. Riza's heart dropped at the sight of his defeated dark eyes. She smiled solemnly and stroked his face unconsciously. She had to look away to fight the emotions that were surfacing. She redirected her vision to Black Hayate, who lay nearby watching the scene in silence.

She'd be lying if she said that her caring for him was solely platonic. Her feelings went beyond that of a loyal subordinate to her Colonel.

"Are you wearing… _boxers_?" his words brought her out of her thoughts and back down to him. She looked down and saw his finger lightly picking at the hole in the front of the boxers designated for a man's penis to poke through.

"Uhh…yeah…I am actually." She chuckled, reluctantly stepping away from him to stop his touching. She was completely bare underneath them.

"I pegged you as a kind of a tomboy, but not to this extreme." He laughed with her, dropping his head and smirking at the floor. He was clearly still intoxicated, but at least he was smiling.

"They're not mine. I just sleep in them." Riza explained absently; only realizing what she said after he made a _'huh'_ sound and looked around frantically.

"I'm sorry, I—I shouldn't have just showed up unannounced like this… I just..." He was talking to her, but he was still looking around the apartment. His eyes finally landed on the cracked bedroom door down the hall behind her, and a look of sadness returned to his face. She was young and beautiful; of course she'd be spending a stormy evening with another man.

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like _that_." Riza waved her hands out in front of her, looking back at the door and then returning her gaze to him. "There's no one else here. There's no one else really…" she trailed off and dropped her eyes back on her canine companion. "Just me and Hayate…"

Roy eyed her curiously.

"I shouldn't have bothered you like this." He groaned, standing wobbly on his legs. "It's late. I should be leave."

"Colonel Mustang, I can't let you go back out there in that storm! You're soaking wet! You'll catch your death!" Riza exclaimed frantically. "You can stay here for the night. Don't go back out there!"

 _Death._

That was all that the young Colonel in front of her heard; and his thoughts immediately ventured back to his best friend, whose grave was now flooding with rain and mud in a cemetery in Central City.

He continued the short distance to her entrance door, but was stopped when she swiftly moved around him and blocked his exit with her smaller frame.

"I'm not letting you leave here like this Colonel." She breathed out desperately. Her arms were stretched out to both sides and her chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily. "You're drunk and you're upset." She reminded him, as if he hadn't known that information for himself.

His eyes briefly dropped to her chest again. Where the tiny top that she wore did nothing to hid the cleavage of her large breast and the identical peaks that strained against the thin fabric, probably due to the cool air. He felt his cock tighten in his pants, and he tried to fight the thoughts that invaded his mind.

Riza was doing her own examination of her boss, however. The button down shirt he was wearing lay matted to his torso, molding into a set of abs that she didn't know still existed on him. It had been years since she's seen him shirtless. He was wearing his shoulder holster with only one revolver tucked into the left holder. Her eyes dropped downward towards his wet dark blue jeans, but immediately flutter back up to his eyes. Was he… _hard_?

"I'm not letting you leave here until you're better, Colonel." She told him firmly. "Now go—"

Her words were cut off when he advanced on her, and she pressed her body harder against the door to try and stop him from leaving. He grabbed her wrists and brought them above her head, pressing her tighter against the wall and then…

His lips where on hers.

Riza gasped and sucked in the taste of whiskey and bourbon that lingered on his lips. She wiggled against him, and Roy thought she was trying to fight him off, but he couldn't let her go. He needed to kiss her, if not for just a little while longer. Then, he would deal with the repercussions afterwards.

But when Riza finally got her hands free, she didn't push him away. No, instead, she wrapped them around his neck and drew him in closer. Pressing her curvy little body into his wet, toned one and moaning into his mouth.

Roy ran his fingered through her hair, stopping to grasp her face and deepen their lip lock with his tongue. He breathed out her name harshly as their tongues wrestled.

Why had he come here tonight? In the middle of a torrential rainstorm, why had his grieving soul wandered to her apartment building? He needed something to take the edge off, to help steer his mind away from the vision of his friend's lifeless body lying in a Central phone booth. He needed something carnal and raw to help him clear his head.

But why did he come _here_? To _her_?

He knew why. It was just hard admitting it. What a scumbag, piece of shit he was for this.

"I should go." He whispered into the intense kiss. "If I don't leave now, I'll…"

"You're _not_ leaving, Roy!" She demanded breathlessly, grinding her hips against his erection.

His immediate reflex was to push her back roughly against the door. He shrugged his holster off before placing his hands on her hips and lifting her body up against the wood; she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

One hand palming her ass through the robe, Roy used his free hand to undo his belt buckle, while still kissing her passionately. There was a slight break in his resolve when he felt the pressure in his groin lessen as the belt loosely dangled around his waist and the sound of the rain beating against the window in the living room.

Riza was loyal and devoted to him in so many ways. She was worth so much more than what they were about to do, period. Fucking her against the entrance door of her apartment was not something she deserved at all. While that was very tempting and enticing, it was _not_ how he wanted their first time together to go.

"Not here." He mumbled in her mouth. "Not like this?"

"Why not?" She surprised him by responding. She laid her head back against the door and closed her eyes, allowing him to attack her throat with kisses.

"You're better than that." He told her softly, "So much better than that."

Pulling her body away from the door, he walked them in drunken zig-zags down the hallway towards what he was sure was her bedroom; guided by the few candles lining the walls of the hallway. His lips still licking and sucking on the junction of her neck.

Her room was dark, but there were two candles on the night stands allowing enough light for him to make out the location of her queen sized bed. He walked over to the foot of the bed and dropped her on the edge with a small bounce.

Riza sat up immediately and slipped her shoulders out of the robe, pulling it from underneath her bottom and tossing it aside. A flash of lightening accompanied by a loud crack of thunder illuminated the room, allowing Riza a better view of Roy as he hastily unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall from his arms. She felt her nether-regions clench and wetness pooling between her legs as she eyes his bare chest and abs. She'd spent the past few years as his assistant and bodyguard, and had no idea that _this_ was the body she was guarding.

Riza scooted her body backwards until she was resting against the headboard of the bed. Her pillows worked as a prop for her to sit up and watch as he kicked off his shoes and socks and crawled towards her on the bed. She'd had dreams similar to this, but never imagined it would come to reality.

Roy hovered over her and slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt, hooking the bottom of the fabric with his thumbs and pulling it upwards before tossing it backwards in the darkness.

His head dipped down to her chest, lapping his tongue in circles around her hard nipples before drawing the top of one mound into his mouth to suck on.

Riza let out a sultry moan, "Ooo-ooh!" His other hand slid past the waistband of the boxers. Using his index and middle finger, Roy separated her lower lips and swirled them over her sensitive spot.

"You're so wet, Riza" He murmured against her right breast, kissing the nipple again before switching sides.

Riza moaned again, grinding her hips upwards as he slid his fingers lower and then hooking the middle one inside of her wetness. He began to pump in and out, deep inside of her; causing her to cry out in pleasure and encouraging him to try for another.

It had been over two years since she'd had anyone touch her like this. If you had asked her best friend, Rebecca, the brunette would have told you Riza was insane and sure to eventually die from lack of sex.

There was no time to get to know a guy when she was busy following another one into Hell and back. And she wasn't the type of girl to causally sleep with a man.

Or so she had believed.

"Colonel, _please_." She was begging him, and for what exactly, he might have had an idea. But here she was, topless below him, with her round tits in his mouth and her wet pussy clenching around his fingers and she still respected him enough to call him by his military title.

Riza Hawkeye was something extraordinary.

He was selfishly about to use her body to temporarily forget the pain of losing his closest comrade and she's still displayed fierce loyalty and devotion to him. He was such a fool.

But, Riza wasn't just some simple, dense girl. She understood fully what was happening between them. He needed help easing the hurt in his heart, and she would willingly give her body to him, especially since it was _her_ that he'd run to. He could have easily gotten this fix anywhere else. He could have stayed in Central, and found his solace in the arms of one of the many working girls under the care for his aunt.

But he was here. Shirtless and making her feel so good.

He was using her, but she was fine with that because she was using him too. Using him to execute a childhood fantasy that she had been forced to bury shortly after finding him again in Ishval.

Equivalent exchange.

His lips left her breasts and traveled south, trailing deep, heavy kisses on her flat stomach and ribs. He kissed her down to the space just above her pelvis, and stopped to examine the men's underwear covering his destination.

"I still don't know how I feel about these," He murmured snapping the waistband against her skin, causing her to giggle lightly, "I'm definitely on the fence about removing another man's underwear. Even if they are on a woman."

Riza laughed and brought her hands down to pull the boxers off of her hips, shimmying them down her legs until finally she lay before him complete naked and wanting.

Roy took a moment to admire the womanly curves of her breast and hips before running his tongue along the junction where her thigh met her pubic area. He pulled his fingers out of her and caressed her leg.

Riza cried out, but the sound of the storm was too loud. Placing his hands on both of her inner thighs, Roy spread her apart and ran his large wet tongue up the length of her slick folds.

"Ahh!" Riza arched her back and her hands impulsively laced into his hair, pulling roughly as he licked her.

Roy ran his tongue over her clit, flicking it back and forth over nub of nerves before wrapping his lips around it and sucking softly.

Riza struggled to breathe as her body trembled with each movement his mouth made against her lower region.

"Co—Colonel—"She couldn't finish her plea. His tongue dipped back down to the bottom of her pussy and dragged upwards again, his fingers came down to vigorously rub her soaked clit, making her scream indistinctly with pleasure.

"Colonel—I'm going to—"

"Roy!" He barked out against her hot wet pussy lips. "Don't call me Colonel in this moment, Riza. Please, call me _Roy_."

"Roy," She whispered softly, grinding against his face again. "Roy…uhn…Roy…Roy!" She called out to him over and over as he clamped his lips around her clit again and sucked harshly this time. His name continued to leave his mouth until it was accompanied but a final _'Uhhhnnnn!'_ and he felt her pussy grow wetter against his lips and chin, and her upper body rocked with her hard orgasm.

Either his stoic lieutenant was always this exciting and vocal during sex, or Roy figured that no other man had ever eaten her pussy that good, if not at all.

He was fine with the latter, because the thought of Riza being this good in bed with other guys had suddenly become unbearable.

"That was…" She searched for the words, but couldn't find them and her next breath at the same time.

"Just the beginning," Roy finished for her in a husky tone. He crawled backwards, and stood up at the foot of the bed, eyeing her like a predator as he unbuttoned his drying jeans and she lay before him open and dripping wet.

Riza didn't shy away from his stare, choosing instead to watch him in anticipation as he pushed his jeans and boxers together down his hips. His large, thick erection sprang out of the waistband; pointing straight at her as if it wanted her as bad as she needed it.

Roy kicked his pants away from his ankles and returned to the bed, hovering over her and moaning softly as the warmth of her pussy teased his cock.

Riza rolled her sheets back and covered their bodies with them. She'd spent many nights tossing in these sheets, haunted by dreams of him.

He grabbed her legs and pulled her down so that she was flat on the bed and her hair was fanned out in a golden halo around the above her head. Her eyes peaked out through the thick bangs that had fallen over them, but he could still see the lust in the light browns as she came down from her orgasm. He promised himself that he'd see that look on her face again soon, as he was determined to make her come again tonight; this time with him inside of her.

He crawled between her bent legs and hovered over her entrance, dipping the tip of his hard cock into her wetness and hissing at the sensation that shot through him.

"Fuck!" He growled, "I don't have any…" He trailed off, hoping she wouldn't offer him one. Not because he didn't want to use it; though the thought of being inside of her without the rubber barrier censuring the true feelings was very beguiling. But he hoped that he was right in his hunch; that she hadn't been with a man in quite some time, nixing the need for having condoms lying around. A part of him, a cocky, big-headed, part of him, entertained the thought of her waiting for _him._ For this exact moment.

It was unspoken, but they were finishing something that had been started years ago. Before her father's death and before the horrors of Ishval had permanently changed their relationship forever.

"It's fine." She spoke confidently, grabbing his face on both sides and pulling his lips to her. "Trust me, Roy."

If he had actually _had_ any doubts to begin with, her sweet and sultry words would have annihilated them instantly.

Adding more pressure to his hips, Roy pushed against her entrance; penetrating her slowly and moving his head away from the kiss to drop it in the junction of her neck.

"Fuck, Riza." He bit out in a gruff tone. "You're so fucking _tight_."

Riza gasped below him; her body locked up as he entered her tight, but wet pussy slowly. No amount of time off the sexual market should cause this type of feeling. It was settled; Roy Mustang would be the greatest fuck she'd ever had.

Though fucking Riza was not what the Colonel had in mind for her. At least, not yet.

No, first he'd make love to her.

He took her inches at a time; pressing forward a little, before backing out and dipping in again further.

"Oh God, Roy!" Riza cried out. The rain was still pelting the windows like a million tiny bullets being launched at them. The wind and thunder were angry, acting as the musical soundtrack of their lovemaking.

Finally Roy was completely inside of her, and Riza found that she was afraid to move. He was so big and so deep that she was unsure how to match this.

But Roy came here on a mission, and within seconds he was stroking her long and deep; laying flush with her body and rolling his hips with every stroke. He kissed the corner of her mouth before dragging up to her lips and devouring them with his.

Riza was having a hard time processing everything. Should she focus on his glorious cock and the way it expertly hit her g-spot with every stroke, threatening to send another orgasm her way?

Or should she fight his tongue back with hers, as he kissed her vehemently? And then there was his hands roaming her sides.

His hands snaked up her back and she arched it slightly to give him room. He traced his fingers over the bubbled flesh that rested on the top part of her father's alchemy tattoo. The place where he'd distorted a portion of the burden her late father had placed on her.

"I'm so sorry," He mumbled. Placing his right hand flat on her back for better leverage and bringing the other one around to the back of her neck, allowing him to stroke her deeper.

"Please don't do that," She spoke softly, looking him in his eyes. "Don't apologize for freeing me." Her light orbs captured his dark ones in a passionate stare down as he fucked her slowly; cradling her in his arms like a delicate masterpiece that he was afraid to break with his plunging strokes.

"Riza…" He breathed down on her, "I lo—"his words were drowned out by a sudden clap of thunder and the ensuing flash of lightening blurred his face, but she was pretty sure she'd clearly read his lips. She hoped that she'd read them right.

She reciprocated his words in the form of a kiss. "Faster," she whimpered, throwing her head back and wrapping her arms over his shoulders. "Faster and harder, Roy."

Roy grunted, her words sending a wave of pleasure through his groin. "Are you sure?"

Riza nodded curtly, "Yes, I want to feel you. Hard and fast."

That was all he needed to hear. He picked up his pace and soon he was pounding in to her soft, wet tightness; sliding completely out of her before slamming back in.

Riza's screams were muted by the raging storm outside, but he could still hear her enough to know that he was working her good. He needed her to come again, before he could finally get his release. He shifted his aim back up against her sweet spot, rubbing the rough patch of flesh inside of her with the tip of his cock, while simultaneously bring his thumb down to toy with her clit.

He let out a labored groan when he felt her walls clench him tightly; almost preventing him from move in and out of her if it weren't for her wetness. He could hear her now. In the moment of calm from the thunder outside, Riza climaxed hard, screaming his name, withering and convulsing violently as her juices coated his cock and her legs flexed.

"Fuck, Riza." He roared, pounding harder and holding her hips so that her pelvis moved with him. "I'm coming!"

Riza continued to move while his hot seed filled her up. He didn't stop moving for a while, and with every stroke, Riza could feel their mixed juices seeping out of her and onto her mattress cover beneath her.

When he finally stopped moving, he pulled out of her completely and rolled to the side of her. The storm grew louder outside and for a long while they laid there staring at each other, willing the other to speak.

Instead they both drifted off into slumber.

Roy awoke first, or so he thought. The rain was still falling outside, but the thunder had calmed significantly, serving as just an occasional low rumble now.

He was lying on his side, with Riza curled in the fetal position against his chest. He reached out and stroked her hair lovingly, before draping his arms over her back and tracing the scarred tattoo again.

"I've messed up everything." Here he was, rejuvenated and refreshed, but most likely due to the fact that he's just had amazing sex with an amazing woman. But his friend was still dead, and now he'd dragged his most loyal and devoted subordinate into his mess. How selfish was he? She deserved so much more than to be a pawn in his sick game of self-loathing. She was more fitted to be his Queen, rather than his pawn.

"No, you didn't" Riza murmurs sleepily, "Nothing has changed."

Roy's heart thumped at the sound of her words. He was sure that she was still asleep when he laid there staring at her.

Riza hadn't fallen asleep for long. How could she when she had this amazing man in her bed finally?

"I used you for my own selfish gain. It's stupid of me to think that that was even something you wanted." He spoke softly, dragging his fingers downwards, where the tattoo stopped just above the crack of her ass.

"At one point it was everything I wanted. The _only_ thing that I ever wanted." Riza expressed softly, before giving a sign, "but that was then; when I was a 15 year old girl, smitten with my father's apprentice. That was before…"

"Before what?" he urged to continue, running his hand over her pert ass and palming it gently.

The young woman below him signed and moved her delicate fingers down his abs."Before I grew up; before Ishval; before I realized how terrible this world can be. Before you entrusted me with the most important task of our lives. I can put my feelings aside for the sake of seeing your plan through; for the sake of changing this nation for the better. That's more important to me, than my own naive selfish desires." The Riza he'd know in the past few years was returning. The First Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye.

"It's not naïve. And if wanting _this…"_ he motioned between them, "is selfish; then we are both self-seeking fools."

"But you're right. We have a much bigger purpose before we can have what we _both_ want." He continued, still sliding his fingers delicately up her ass. "I should leave now. The longer I stay the messier this will get."

"Just do me a favor please." She asked him tenderly. Rubbing her hands over the ripples in his torso.

"Anything."

"Stay until I fall asleep. Then leave. If I wake up and you're gone, it can be like a dream, and I can go back to the normal behaviors. We can resume our lives as if this hadn't happened…yet."

Roy couldn't speak. He just nodded and hummed his agreement. Tucking her head under his chin and pulling her closer to him so that he could rub circles on her back until she fell asleep. Before she drifted, however, she could hear his deep voice speaking to her.

"I promise you there is an _after,_ Riza."

She awoke hours later. The post storm sunshine beaming through her bedroom window illuminated her surroundings.

There was an empty space of wrinkled sheets where she'd known he been hours earlier. Black Hayate was curled up at the foot of her bed, watching her sleep solemnly. The candles on the night stand had been snubbed out and she was sure Roy had done the same to the rest of the candles in the house on his way out.

She scanned the room for her tossed around clothes, finding a certain article of clothes to be missing. The striped men's boxers had vanished, and in their place lay a pair of black ones she'd never seen before. She chuckled lightly at the thought of him leaving his boxers and discarding the one's she'd kept from her ex.

In the kitchen she found the charred remains of the cotton fabric on top of her trash can. He had been careful not to burn them beyond recognition. She figured it was a message.

A reminder of their promise of an _after_ ; a life together once his journey was complete.

She saluted her commanding officer as she entered the office an hour later. The only hint that something had changed between them, was the look of confusion from Black Hayate as he looked between the two of them.

"I need to follow these leads on Hughes' death." Colonel Mustang spoke to his five most loyal subordinates. "I've got a plan, but it's going to take all of us to exact it perfectly. We'll find out what's going on in Central, but I need to know that you're all in this with me."

There was a chorus of _"yes, sir"_ from the five officers, and Roy breathed in quiet relief, explaining to them all that he was transferring soon, and they would all be coming with him. Riza watched as the Colonel and Havoc engaged in banter after Mustang's suggestion that Havoc break up with his latest girlfriend and move to Central City.

She'd promised him her dedication to follow him into Hell if he'd asked it of her. But she knew that that was impossible.

Because if she was with him, there was no possible way there could be Hell.

* * *

 **I really feel so strongly about this fic, so please let me know if you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


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